


Waiting for Winter

by Twice_Shy (notboldly)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Assistant Professor Derek Hale, Christmas Caroling, College Student Stiles, Family, First Meetings, Fluff, Implied Scott/Allison - Freeform, M/M, Winter, mentions of Erica/Boyd - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2015-12-09
Packaged: 2018-05-05 21:27:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5391029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notboldly/pseuds/Twice_Shy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone had a soulmark, a special shape on their body that formed during childhood and was meant to lead each person to their soulmate. </p><p>Unfortunately, Derek's soulmark is shaped like a snowflake, and that fact has been actively ruining his life since he was six years old.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting for Winter

While it wasn't unusual for soulmarks to take years to fully form, Derek broke his family's personal record when his didn't finish developing until he was around six years old. In a rare turn of events, the exact date of the transformation was unknown; despite the fact that the entire Hale family had been waiting impatiently for his mark to come in since he'd turned five, the eventual change in the dark blot on his wrist bone went unnoticed for weeks. The oversight was understandable; unlike his parents' (soulmarks shaped like a flying bird) or his sisters' (a crescent moon and a four leaf clover) his soulmark didn't look much different from the circle of color it had originally been.

To everyone's surprise and confusion, his soulmark looked just like a snowflake.

"Do you think it means he'll meet his soulmate in the winter?" His mother asked curiously while she held Derek's wrist gently on her palm. Her own soulmark, nestled at the base of her thumb, looked wild and free when compared to his.

His dad shook his head, looking uncertain.

"It might just mean they meet somewhere colder…well, colder than California. Or maybe his soulmate has a winter birthday too. It's hard to tell."

His mother sighed, the sound like frustration. Derek didn't really get the point; he was almost seven, and as far as he was concerned, the mark didn't look like an army man or a vicious wolf, and so was mostly boring.

"Well. I guess we'll have to work with it." She looked at him and smiled sweetly. "Derek, honey, how do you feel about skiing?"

Derek made a face.

"I hate it. Can we go ice skating instead?"

His parents smiled and nodded in encouragement, but Derek didn't get it at the time, not really.

***

Everything became clearer over the years, but nothing was clearer than the fact that Derek hated his soulmark. It was sort of inevitable, he figured; his soulmark was a snowflake and Derek hated the cold, hated winter, hated Christmas, hated all of it. Since it was his soulmark and that meant something about his soulmate and their meeting, though, his preferences didn't seem to matter, not even when his soulmark was actively _ruining his life_.

When his sister, Laura, suggested it might be related to the holidays, Derek found himself signed up for every Christmas pageant and caroling event from elementary school onward. When his uncle mentioned it might just be a location with a lot of snow, Derek got to spend his 8th grade summer in Maine with his aunt instead of in Mexico with his Spanish class. When he wanted to try out for baseball in high school, his mom gently suggested that he consider ice hockey instead. When he wanted to use his hard-earned money from his job at the ice rink for a down payment on a motorcycle, his dad bought him an SUV, "just in case of bad weather." And yes, while Derek actually _did_ like hockey and he eventually admitted that the SUV was probably a bit more practical for a long-term vehicle, it was the principle of the thing. Derek liked the beach, and he took Spanish instead of Russian, and he hated going outside when it was less than sixty degrees outside. Soulmark or not, Derek was just not a cold weather person.

When his college admission letters came back, showing one acceptance for NYU and one for the University of Alaska, a school he'd never applied to, Derek decided that enough was enough.

"I got a _full-ride_ scholarship," he said, and he had, somehow, in between all the caroling and winter-themed birthday parties and ice skating. "My teacher recommended me, and he says he's never met anyone as passionate about Latin American history." He waved the letters pointedly at his mother, but she didn't look guilty. "UAF doesn't even have a Latin American Studies program!"

His mother sighed, looking sad, just like she'd looked sad when Laura and then Cora both found their soulmates before him.

"Derek, honey, we just want you to have a chance to meet them, wherever they are. How are you supposed to meet them on a beach?"

Derek resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall.

"It's New York, Mom, not the Caribbean. There will be snow at some point." His mom opened her mouth to reply, and Derek continued, almost desperately. " _Please_. I need this."

She didn't look happy about it, but when the silence stretched out between them and Derek didn't waver, she eventually nodded.

"Well, I guess it's okay. New York is colder than Beacon Hills, after all."

Derek, overcome with gratitude, lunged forward and hugged her tight.

"Thank you."

It felt like a victory, and it felt like freedom.

***

Derek didn't meet his soulmate when he reached NYU that winter even though the weather seemed right for it, but since he honestly hadn't expected to, he wasn't that bothered. He did, however, meet Erica, a ferociously confident woman who inexplicably also had a soulmark shaped like a snowflake. Hers was slightly different in form, however, sectored plates instead of a dendrite snowflake, and it was located an inch under her left shoulder blade rather than anywhere near her wrist. As if those differences weren't enough, she'd also already met her soulmate, Boyd, while mountain climbing just after high school graduation. It was a story she loved to tell, not the least because they didn't realize they were soulmates until after they'd been stranded together and had to have sex for warmth…or so she said.

Derek made a face the first time she'd told him, and he made the same face every successive time after that.

"Thanks, Erica, but I'm not sure I ever need that much detail." Because she liked to go into detail, and Boyd, with his stoic expression that turned adoring whenever he looked at her, did nothing to discourage that. "I'm sure it was magical, and the mountains shook."

"Yes, and that's why there was an avalanche!" She agreed with a laugh, but at least she dropped the subject in favor of snuggling against Boyd's broad side.

Derek sighed in relief, but secretly he thought they were sort of sweet. They were the first pair of realized soulmates he'd met outside of his family, and his parents were his parents, Laura was obnoxious about her genius astronomer soulmate she met at space camp, and Cora had met her soulmate young enough that it had been awkward to even think about. But Erica and Boyd…they seemed to fit, seemed to steady each other and make each other happy, and Derek had never had that. Not when he'd dated in high school (to the everlasting disappointment of his parents, when they'd seen Paige's cello shaped soulmark on her collarbone) and not now.

For the first time in his life, Derek considered _wanting_ to meet his soulmate. After years of frustration, it was a staggering feeling, and the feeling returned every time there was even a hint of snow on the weather forecast.

Nevertheless, Derek didn't meet his soulmate at NYU, and he graduated with honors five years later, still alone.

***

Despite his parents' best efforts and Derek's own realization that he possibly wanted his soulmate in this lifetime, he didn't develop a sudden love for cold weather. After graduation, he instead went back to California for his master's degree, more than eager to be back in the sun. He planned to be a Latin American Studies teacher one day, snow be damned, and once he was back home, Derek took out a loan in pursuit of precisely that. When it became obvious that loans alone might not be enough, he also resumed his job at the ice rink part time. It was an easy enough thing to juggle with his course load, and it gave him privacy; even if there were dozens of skaters around, none of his family ever followed him there, convinced as they were that soulmate meetings should be special, private things. He was loathe to let that privacy go, and when he received his M.A. with no job offers on the immediate horizon, he kept working at the rink. At this point, he figured it couldn't hurt.

By the time Derek turned twenty-seven, it was starting to look like all the steps he'd taken towards his goal might be in vain, except then—miracle of miracles—he got an interview for an assistant professor position at Berkeley. When he got the callback and job offer almost a month later, his entire family took him out to dinner to celebrate, and the day was a happy one, even if he still saw that lingering sadness on his parents' faces.

When the night was over and everyone was leaving the restaurant for home, they gave him a motorcycle as a present. There were tears in his mother's eyes when they handed him the key, and there were nearly tears in _Derek's_ eyes when he accepted it.

"We just want you to be happy, Derek," his mother said, with a one-armed hug that Derek returned two-fold. As soon as he stepped back, his father handed him a helmet, glossy blue, with a snarling wolf painted on the back.

"And we want you to be safe about it," he added, expression stern, but not even his bristly beard could hide the twitch of a smile when Derek slid the helmet on. A perfect fit.

Derek got his motorcycle license the next day, and he drove out to the beach that weekend, smiling the entire way.

***

Because he loved his parents, Derek still went caroling every year. Unlike when he was a kid, however, he now did so with his niece and nephew in tow. His soulmate wasn't ever in any of the houses or businesses they stopped to serenade, but the trips were still worth it for the smiles on familiar faces and the way Sofia and Sammy lit up at the prospect of post-caroling hot chocolate. It was a week before Christmas and the temperature outside was still too warm for winter, but Derek herded them to the coffee shop anyway; it was the spirit of the season, and he was feeling charitable.

He was feeling significantly less charitable when a man with fluffy brown hair came barreling into the coffee shop, hitting Derek with the door and causing him to spill peppermint mocha on the hem of his sweater.

"Watch where you're going," Derek said irritably, with an arm protectively blocking Sofia and Sammy while he dabbed at his shirt with a napkin. The guy winced, the motion only drawing attention to the arrowhead soulmark on his crooked jaw.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm just in a little bit of a hurry. Here, let me make it up to you," he said, fumbling for something in his pocket. He paused in his searching to squint at Derek, and then he smiled brightly. "Hey, I know you! You used to work at the rink, right? Wow, weird coincidence." He yanked his hands out of his pocket to reveal a handful of coupons. "Here, you can have these; there's a special on kids tonight at the rink, half-off, but I have a free adult pass in there too."

Sofia, normally a quiet kid, squealed at the prospect of skating, and even Sammy perked up. Derek didn't know how he could say no to that, and he accepted the gift with only a moment's thought to the skates he (hopefully) had in his SUV.

"Thanks."

The guy smiled brightly and went to stand in line without another word. Derek, feeling slightly more forgiving, immediately dismissed him, and he led the kids back to his car, already dreading how crowded the ice rink would be. 

By some miracle, he actually did find a fairly close parking spot, and they stood in line while they finished their drinks, kids and teenagers alike bouncing in excitement all around them. Aside from the brief delay of a group of ten kids and a man with close-cropped brown hair that couldn't seem to find his credit card, the line moved quickly. Before long, they were pulling on their skates and heading out on the ice amidst the crowd.

After impressing on Sofia and Sammy that they were never to leave his or each other's sight, Derek let them skate ahead at the breakneck speed all kids seemed to prefer. Derek kept watch though he moved at a slower pace, blades sliding smoothly across the ice and cold air filling his lungs. It had been a while since he'd had the time to go skating, with his free hours split between his first semester at Berkeley and Cora's wedding. He'd forgotten how peaceful it could be, despite the crowds and the noise, and he let his mind drift even as he kept a sharp eye on Sofia's long black ponytail.

He'd made it two loops around the rink when, despite his vigilance, a kid crashed sideways into his knees and sent him sprawling.

"Christ, _again_?" Derek asked nobody, while he struggled to sit up. His back was throbbing from the impact, his ass probably had a bruise the size of his fist, and between this kid and coffee shop guy, that was twice someone had run into him that night; he wasn't normally that unlucky.

The kid, for his part, seemed uninjured, and he was staring at Derek with wide eyes.

"Sorry, mister," he said, but if he'd been about to say anything else, it was cut off when the man Derek had spotted in line earlier came racing over.

"Cripes, Billy! Are you trying to kill every skater who gets in your way? Good powerhouse, kid, but this isn't a roller derby." He glanced at Derek, his brown eyes concerned and guilty. He looked to be in his early twenties, and he was handsome, with mole spotted skin and shoulders wide enough to make Derek a little short of breath. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm—" He stopped and scanned the ice, and he heaved a sigh of relief when he spotted Sofia and Sammy skating towards him. "Sorry. I'm fine."

The man laughed and extended a hand to help him up, which Derek accepted gratefully.

"Dude, I think I should be the one apologizing, since it was one of my kids who introduced you to the ice. I saw you earlier, though, and you're, like, the most natural skater I've ever seen. How'd you get knocked over by an eight year old?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, the guy glanced down and dropped Derek's hand like he'd just sprouted claws. The abrupt lack of support left Derek scrambling for balance.

"No _freaking_ way," the guy said, expression quickly turning annoyed. "I can't believe this!"

"You—I'm sorry?" Derek said, confused and more than a little disgruntled at the abrupt shift in mood. Sofia and Sammy came up to him and Derek rested a hand on each of their shoulders, before pushing them to go ahead. "Sammy, Sofia, go do a few laps, okay? I'll be right behind you after I deal with…this."

They nodded and skated off, and the man looked even more annoyed at that. He waved his arms rapidly, the whoosh of his coat almost comical. When Derek glanced over his shoulder, he saw the man's herd of kids stopped on the ice and giggling, watching them both like they were attractions at a zoo. 

" _You're_ sorry?" An accusing finger pointed at his face, abruptly pulling Derek's focus back to the irrationally angry man in front of him. "I went to Antarctica for you, and then I meet you at an _ice skating rink._ Seriously?"

Derek didn't understand, except then he saw it. There, on the man's wrist, was a familiar snowflake. 

A perfect match.

Derek felt his jaw drop, feeling shocked and giddy, and the guy—his _soulmate_ —stopped talking to stare at him. 

"You…went to Antarctica?" Derek asked, because he was about thirty seconds from shouting to the skies that he'd _found him_ , and they were getting enough strange looks just for standing at the edge of the ring.

The man waved the question aside, then gestured vaguely to himself.

"Well, yeah, I'm studying to be a marine biologist. And last summer someone said, hey, you want to go look at some seals? And I went, because snow. I _hate_ snow."

This was followed by a glare, and although Derek felt he should probably apologize, that wasn't what came out of his mouth.

"I go Christmas caroling."

The man scoffed.

"Yeah, like _that's_ comparable—"

"I've gone every year, and I have since I was seven. I spent four years chaperoning winter formal dances for my old high school. I was that creepy college kid _every year_." 

The man began to smile. It was boyishly charming, but Derek would not be distracted, not yet. After twenty-one years of being pushed and being cold, he had a lot to say.

"And I played hockey, and I took a trip to Maine when I could've been on a beach in Mexico instead. And then my parents wanted me to go to college in _Alaska_ ," Derek finished, like that alone was the killing blow. The man was still grinning when Derek finished speaking, but beyond that, he was looking at Derek like he was _wonderful_ ; the expression made Derek flush, although if asked, he planned to blame it on the cold air.

"Yeah, I can see the comparison now," the man said idly, after they were both silent for a beat too long. "You didn't go, did you? To Alaska?"

"No, I went to NYU."

Another smile. "I probably just missed you there, then." The man stuck out his hand, and Derek politely shook it. "I'm Stiles. Nice to meet you. Sorry one of my kids knocked you down."

"It's fine. I'm Derek, and those two kids glaring at you from the sidelines are Sofia and Samuel. Sorry you went to Antarctica."

Stiles laughed.

"Oh, it would've been worth it if you were there, even if you'd had an arctic explorer beard. I mean, _damn_."

Derek flushed again.

"I wouldn't have been there. I teach Latin American Studies at Berkeley, and I'm never going near snow again."

Stiles shot him a sly look.

"Oh, I don't know. What if I want to go to the Alps for our honeymoon?"

"I'll divorce you."

"Please. I have all sort of reasons why you won't, but none of them are really kid appropriate." Stiles glanced around, like he'd just realized where he was. "And I'm absolutely getting my pay docked for my lack of chaperoning right now. Shit. I mean, crap."

Derek choked off a laugh and, on impulse, grabbed Stiles's hand gently in his. The touch was so much warmer now, and his fingers trembled when he brushed Stiles's soulmark gently with his thumb.

"I should probably go too. My last name's Hale; look me up sometime."

Stiles squeezed his hand back, grinning the brightest smile Derek had ever seen. 

"Count on it."

***

END

**Author's Note:**

> For those curious: Derek's parents met at a zoo, and Cora met her soulmate at the Chicago St. Patrick's Day parade. Also, because I love Easter Eggs: dendrite snowflakes commonly form at the approximate temperature most ice rinks keep their ice, assuming low supersaturation. 
> 
> Feedback is very welcome, and I hope you all enjoyed; come visit me on [Tumblr](http://notboldly.tumblr.com) if you want!


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